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Volvo lifts golf to new heights in China
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-13 06:12
Over the past decade, golf in China has been elevated to the spotlight.
The country saw the number of golf fans swell from a mere 1,000 a decade ago
to more than one million new enthusiasts today. A home-grown pro tournament was
lifted from nowhere to become the fastest-developing event in Asia. A group of
Chinese caddies even catapulted to star status after becoming pro tour
competitors and title contenders in some world-class events.
Some would say that Mel Pyatt, chief executive officer of the Volvo Event
Management, is the man responsible for all that and more.
Pyatt's company is a Volvo branch specifically dealing with the company's
sponsorships. They are the group that have been responsible for the development
of golf in China over the past 11 years.
In 1995 when only 10 standard golf courses around China were found, the team
had created the country's first-ever pro golf tournament - Volvo China Open. Ten
years later, the tournament has become a major world-class event not only in
China but also in Asia.
Celebrating its 11th anniversary, the tournament is jointly sanctioned by the
Asian Tour and European Tour, increasing from US$400,000 to US$1.3 million in
coffers 10 years ago. It has even attracted big names like present Europe's
Ryder Cup stalwarts Paul McGinley, Paul Lawrie and Thomas Bjorn.
Behind the fast-growing prosperity of Chinese golf is the highly
professionalized sports management from the Volvo Event Management. Alongside
the booming China Open, the company also runs the European PGA Tour and the
year-ending Volvo Masters.
Pyatt attributed the series of successful sponsorships to the group's core
spirit, credited to "persistence, honesty and communications."
"We choose the certain sports on the basis of smart and full consideration,
and we are honest about all our partners, the players, audience and organizers,"
he said. "And the most important, a group of professional personnel is a must."
With no more than three years to go until the Beijing Olympics, the
sports-sponsoring enthusiasm from domestic companies has been growing. But any
distinguished brand has yet to emerge as most of them opt for a single event or
just part of the season of a sports league.
"The investors cannot expect to make direct profit through sponsorships, so
you have to be patient and persistent," he said. "The benefit of sponsoring
reflects on the media coverage, public attention and some other indirect profit,
while all these factors are exactly the most essential parts of a commercial
brand."
Another strategy Volvo explored is to co-operate with another sponsor rather
than working exclusively.
Volvo, chief operator of the Volvo Master Cup, then invited MasterCard to the
sponsorship team. The move, in Pyatt's words, received a better-than-expected
result.
"Volvo is not the only sponsor in golf tournaments as we initially accept new
business partners," he said. "The different companies would share the total
expense of running the event and jointly contribute to enhancing the popularity
of the tournament."
Fuelled by the systematic and professional business strategies, Volvo has
received wide-recognition on the market as well as China's golf experts.
China No 1 golfer Zhang Lianwei is one of the players improving with the
Volvo China Open.
"Volvo China Open does help us a lot," Zhang said.
A caddie in early years, Zhang has competed in as many China Opens over the
past 11 years with a crown in 2003.
Today, the country's total number of golf courses have reached 200, with 150
under construction. More than 100 professional golfers registered in the Chinese
Golf Association, a sharp contrast to the number in 1994 when only 16 players
competed in the national championships.
"There will be a definitive shift of golfing power in the future, the only
question is when," Pyatt said. "Market forces will determine how quickly the
game will expand in China. It won't be far behind in the next 10 to 15 years."
(China Daily 10/13/2005 page15)
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